We say farewell to the Skoda Superb, having had one last stab at exceeding the official combined fuel consumption figure.

I had laid down the gauntlet (to myself) in the last review (Fleet News, September 1) and I’m delighted to report that the figure has been smashed! Unfortunately, it wasn’t by me – soft-footed staff writer Matt de Prez took the car for its final week and thoroughly embarrassed me by attaining a fuel consumption figure of 71.2mpg over a 122-mile journey.

However, given our actual consumption test last time round, which showed a 5% differential with the trip computer, this probably equates to a real figure of 67.6mpg, a smidge under the official 68.9mpg, so put the champers on ice.

Nevertheless, almost 68mpg in a 1.4 tonne 2.0-litre 150hp diesel car, capable of a 0-62mph sprint of 8.8secs (mutually exclusive of the efficiency figure, of course), is outstanding.

All our testers’ experiences with the Superb have been excellent. The car has been effortless to drive, comfortable on long journeys, functional and user-friendly in the right doses, and capable of putting on a sprint when necessary.

It easily accommodated adults, children and luggage, almost always with room to spare. There were great touches, such as umbrellas snugly hidden in the front doors, and a long list of standard equipment on the Business trim, from Bluetooth and sat-nav to stability control and automatic braking. Our only issues were minor trim buzz around the centre multimedia console, which seemed to settle down after time, and the metal strip around the top of the rear passenger door, which started to come away and needed replacing.

In short, having spent six months with the Superb, we can confirm that it thoroughly deserved the upper-medium car of the year trophy at this year’s Fleet News Awards.